1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to removing feathers remaining on a carcass after initial feather removal and, more particularly, to removing feathers from the wing tip of a poultry carcass.
2. Background Art
Feathers left on birds are a big customer complaint in the poultry industry. Feathers are hard to remove from the wing tip, tail, and shoulder/neck area. A method and apparatus for removing feathers that can be used to satisfy the customer is needed. An aggressive method and apparatus is needed when removing wing feathers, which does not result in broken wings. The poultry industry can not produce enough wings to meet customer demand that will meet customer criteria. An invention is needed that will increase A-grade (highest quality) wing harvest.
Existing feather machines are called ‘pickers’. Pickers have been used in poultry processing for several years. Pickers literally beat the feathers off with rubber cones shaped like fingers. However, these devices are not very effective in removing tail or wing tip feathers. Also, usually only one bird carcass is able to be presented to the machine at a time. Some mechanical devices have been developed which are not very effective that use smooth rollers or that has rollers that look like an auger or helical gear. Many of these devices are overly aggressive and damage the carcass by pulling the carcass into the rollers. Also, many of these devices are not designed to consistently and reliably present a wing tip or tail to the rollers creating a pinch point. A better feather puller apparatus is needed particularly for removing feathers that remain on wing tips.